Last acts before heading off have been to put in an order at NWS online bookstore for a few bits and pieces, namely:
Nightfighter, Ship of the Line and The Skirmisher
...and a quick visit to Project Gutenberg for a bit of holiday reading.
Always good to have something to look forward to on the trip back!
Prufrock's Wargaming Blog
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Saturday, January 26, 2013
Off to a wedding
I am happy to report that I'll be away for the next couple of weeks attending my brother's wedding. There will be feasting, mead and some beardy types handy with axes, so let's hope that Grendel and his mother keep a low profile.
Anyway, I will be back posting at some stage in early February. I trust that you will all behave yourselves in my absence!
Best wishes to one and all!
Anyway, I will be back posting at some stage in early February. I trust that you will all behave yourselves in my absence!
Best wishes to one and all!
Monday, January 21, 2013
Ordering from Old Glory 15s - very good experience
With US postal prices due to go up in a few days I decided to get in now and pick up a couple of final bits and pieces I need for some 15mm projects. Accordingly, I went to the Old Glory 15s site, as the bulk of the purchase would be more of their Marian legionaries to match the ones I got in an ebay buy last year.
It wasn't something I was greatly looking forward to, as I've not found the Old Glory site the easiest to order through in the past. Happily, I found that they have revamped it entirely. You set up an account (email and password), search through their stock (they now have enlargeable photos which is a big improvement), put items in your cart, and go to checkout as normal. You can then check your postage charges by going part-way through the checkout process, and when you are ready to pay can use credit card or paypal. It's all done quickly and with no fuss. I was very impressed.
People have their own opinion about Old Glory figures, and I am in the 'very useful' to 'quite like them' camp. Their foot figures can be a bit chunky of leg, but I really like their cavalry, and you can actually do a bit with some of their less desirable poses if you are prepared to get out your Xacto knife. So, if you want to pick up some figures in bulk you can do worse than look at Old Glory.
BTW, something I noticed is that if you order your figures in Field of Glory battlegroups rather than individual packs you can get often get a slightly better deal: 32 foot figures for $12 rather than 24 for $10, for example. If, like me, you prefer the big battalions, this can be a nice perk.
Do any readers use Old Glory 15s?
It wasn't something I was greatly looking forward to, as I've not found the Old Glory site the easiest to order through in the past. Happily, I found that they have revamped it entirely. You set up an account (email and password), search through their stock (they now have enlargeable photos which is a big improvement), put items in your cart, and go to checkout as normal. You can then check your postage charges by going part-way through the checkout process, and when you are ready to pay can use credit card or paypal. It's all done quickly and with no fuss. I was very impressed.
People have their own opinion about Old Glory figures, and I am in the 'very useful' to 'quite like them' camp. Their foot figures can be a bit chunky of leg, but I really like their cavalry, and you can actually do a bit with some of their less desirable poses if you are prepared to get out your Xacto knife. So, if you want to pick up some figures in bulk you can do worse than look at Old Glory.
BTW, something I noticed is that if you order your figures in Field of Glory battlegroups rather than individual packs you can get often get a slightly better deal: 32 foot figures for $12 rather than 24 for $10, for example. If, like me, you prefer the big battalions, this can be a nice perk.
Do any readers use Old Glory 15s?
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Grand Dreams in 15mm
As I getting back into painting thoughts naturally turn to projects done and projects yet to be finished. The plan is that I will one day have enough painted 15mm figures to re-fight any of the scenarios in Phil Sabin's Lost Battles, Hydaspes and (perhaps) Cunaxa excepted.
Now is probably as good a time as any to take stock of where I am on that, and to think about the best painting strategy to take into the future.
Classical Greeks. I need two Greek armies. These I have purchased, but I may need to add more hoplites to this force eventually. Only light troops painted. 15% done.
Persians. I need a large Persian force. The figures for this I have also purchased. Unpainted except for the horse archers, but there are 18 bases of them. 10% done.
Macedonians and Successor Kingdoms. I really do need two pike armies. I have one painted - the heavy infantry done by Fernando in Sri Lanka - and another purchased. Another pike block and more cavalry needs to be painted up. 65% done.
Carthaginians. I have enough Carthaginians for all my Second Punic War needs, though purely for vanity's sake I would like to get more of Hannibal's veterans in Roman armour. 95% done.
Spanish. I need these as Second Punic War allies, for skirmishes amongst themselves, and for Sertorian battles. Purchased and the rest are on the painting table now. 75% done.
Gauls. I need Gauls for Sentinum, as Carthaginian allies, and for fighting Caesar.. Figures are purchased and mostly prepped but yet to be painted. 5% done.
Italian City States. I need a smattering of these guys as allies and for Sentinum. 80% purchased, 60% painted.
Polybian Romans. I need a large force of these guys, and have it. Painted. 100% done, but I do have another army to build because, well, you can never have enough Polybian Romans!
Marian Romans. I need two large armies so that I can do the civil wars of the late Republic and sundry examples of imperialist aggression. Purchased and mostly painted after an ebay score. They just need tidying up, another 140 infantry and 50 cavalry painted, and to be put into units and based. 70% done.
Parthians. I have a small Parthian force to allow me to do Carrhae in half scale, but when I say small I do mean small - only 22 bases! 100% done, but these do double duty as horse archers for my Persians and cataphracts for my Successors, so calling them a separate army is cheating.
So, of the thirteen armies I need to finish this project, only five are currently tableworthy. There is clearly much work to be done!
The first task is to finish off the Spanish. After that I'd like to knock the Marians on the head as that will open up a whole new range of possibilities for civil war battles. In doing those I'll have to paint up Gallic cavalry, so that will get me some way into the next project, which should probably be Gauls.
Then it will be time for the Successors, though I really enjoy Successor battles, so may bump some phalangites up the queue. Ideally, I'd send this lot off to get painted as well, but conscience won't allow that at this time.
And there we are - that's the state of play in the 15mm ancients Mediterranean project. The thing is that almost all the purchasing has been done. Apart from some more hoplites and Italian troops, I've got pretty much all I need.
Now, if I could only get them painted...
Now is probably as good a time as any to take stock of where I am on that, and to think about the best painting strategy to take into the future.
Classical Greeks. I need two Greek armies. These I have purchased, but I may need to add more hoplites to this force eventually. Only light troops painted. 15% done.
Persians. I need a large Persian force. The figures for this I have also purchased. Unpainted except for the horse archers, but there are 18 bases of them. 10% done.
Macedonians and Successor Kingdoms. I really do need two pike armies. I have one painted - the heavy infantry done by Fernando in Sri Lanka - and another purchased. Another pike block and more cavalry needs to be painted up. 65% done.
Carthaginians. I have enough Carthaginians for all my Second Punic War needs, though purely for vanity's sake I would like to get more of Hannibal's veterans in Roman armour. 95% done.
Spanish. I need these as Second Punic War allies, for skirmishes amongst themselves, and for Sertorian battles. Purchased and the rest are on the painting table now. 75% done.
Gauls. I need Gauls for Sentinum, as Carthaginian allies, and for fighting Caesar.. Figures are purchased and mostly prepped but yet to be painted. 5% done.
Italian City States. I need a smattering of these guys as allies and for Sentinum. 80% purchased, 60% painted.
Polybian Romans. I need a large force of these guys, and have it. Painted. 100% done, but I do have another army to build because, well, you can never have enough Polybian Romans!
Marian Romans. I need two large armies so that I can do the civil wars of the late Republic and sundry examples of imperialist aggression. Purchased and mostly painted after an ebay score. They just need tidying up, another 140 infantry and 50 cavalry painted, and to be put into units and based. 70% done.
Parthians. I have a small Parthian force to allow me to do Carrhae in half scale, but when I say small I do mean small - only 22 bases! 100% done, but these do double duty as horse archers for my Persians and cataphracts for my Successors, so calling them a separate army is cheating.
So, of the thirteen armies I need to finish this project, only five are currently tableworthy. There is clearly much work to be done!
The first task is to finish off the Spanish. After that I'd like to knock the Marians on the head as that will open up a whole new range of possibilities for civil war battles. In doing those I'll have to paint up Gallic cavalry, so that will get me some way into the next project, which should probably be Gauls.
Then it will be time for the Successors, though I really enjoy Successor battles, so may bump some phalangites up the queue. Ideally, I'd send this lot off to get painted as well, but conscience won't allow that at this time.
And there we are - that's the state of play in the 15mm ancients Mediterranean project. The thing is that almost all the purchasing has been done. Apart from some more hoplites and Italian troops, I've got pretty much all I need.
Now, if I could only get them painted...
Friday, January 18, 2013
Workbench
After being inspired by Jason over at Light Bobs and Paint Blobs, I stopped in at the hardware store today and picked up a lamp for painting. As a result, 6th Fleet got put back in its box and the figures and paints took its place on the table for what was the first decent painting session I've had for a while.
Although I have piles upon piles of boxes filled with prepped figures (and many more with unprepped), the ones I've really been wanting to finish off are my Punic War era Celtiberians. There are about 180 of them in various stages of completion and there will be psalms in wargaming heaven when I finally get them done.
I got these little guys about seven years ago and the ones that I painted then look a bit ragged compared to the ones that I'm painting now, so the project has had to expand to bring the older paints into line with the newer ones, as I did with my other Spanish.
The truth of the matter is that this is real production line stuff. I'm relying on the shield painting to standardize everything and hoping that the different painting styles I've gone through will, when combined within the same unit, promote a 'pleasing sense of irregularity'. But we shall have to wait and see on that score!
Although I have piles upon piles of boxes filled with prepped figures (and many more with unprepped), the ones I've really been wanting to finish off are my Punic War era Celtiberians. There are about 180 of them in various stages of completion and there will be psalms in wargaming heaven when I finally get them done.
I got these little guys about seven years ago and the ones that I painted then look a bit ragged compared to the ones that I'm painting now, so the project has had to expand to bring the older paints into line with the newer ones, as I did with my other Spanish.
The truth of the matter is that this is real production line stuff. I'm relying on the shield painting to standardize everything and hoping that the different painting styles I've gone through will, when combined within the same unit, promote a 'pleasing sense of irregularity'. But we shall have to wait and see on that score!
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| New lamp and workbench |
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| Paionian horse having had some left over brown applied to their spears... |
I'd also like to welcome Craig, who is the most recent person to have begun following my blog. Thanks for doing so, and please feel free to introduce yourself and/or jump in with comments or criticisms any time.
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Ancient and Medieval Wargaming (AMW) with John
For me, one of the great delights of the internet age is the ease with which one can meet like-minded wargame enthusiasts from around the world and not only share ideas and a bit of humour but also actually get to play a bit.
VASSAL is so far the best tool I've encountered for play by email games, but Cyberboard does a good job as well.
One gamer I've been lucky enough to have a bit to do with over the past few years is John Acar, and the latest in our long line of VASSAL matches was concluded just recently. What follows is a brief report. All of the screenshots included here are from John's VASSAL module for the game, which can be found in the file section of the AMW yahoo group.
This rules used were Neil Thomas's Ancient and Medieval Wargaming, in this instance pitting Macedonians vs Classical Indians.
I set up first as the Macedonians, putting my heavy infantry in the centre, cavalry on the wings, and light infantry on the left ready to take up a defensive position in the wood. John responded by putting his heavy chariotry on the wings - those on the left supported by his two elephants - and the weaker bow-armed infantry in the centre.
In AMW the first side to eliminate six of the eight enemy units wins, so my plan was to close as quickly as possible in the centre and trust that my phalanx could defeat his bow quickly. I hoped to beat him on one wing with an outflanking move and hold him as long as possible on the other. I felt that there was not much I could do to counter the elephants except pray for really good dice.
Heavy chariots are superior to my companion cavalry in AMW, so I imagined that John's plan would be to use that superiority to his advantage, try to win on the flanks, and unleash the jumbos onto my poor unsuspecting heavy infantry.
Over the next few turns the Indians got into bow range and fired off a volley or two, but without conspicuous success. My cavalry held back on both flanks, daring his chariotry to advance. On his left, they did.
The Indian shooting improved dramatically as the turns clicked over, and John's chariots charged in on the left. My hypaspists promptly responded with a charge of their own into the flank of the chariots, and then the hypaspists in their turn were smacked into by an elephant.
Confused? Hopefully the screenshot below will help.
In the centre the phalangites continued their slow advance, peeling off the rightmost unit to guard against the attack by the second elephant. On my left, nothing much happened except for the light infantry accepting that they were on the wrong wing and trying to get to the other as quickly as they could.
It was now my turn to charge, and the phalangites piled in. They managed to rout the unit opposing the left of the line, but the bowmen in the centre put up strong resistance and the struggle turned attritional.
On my right the horse and chariots traded blows, with the supporting hypaspists disappearing rapidly thanks to the attention of the elephant on their flank.
The fight continued, with the leftmost unit of Indian foot swinging round to outflank my phalanx. The chariots of his right also turned and gave every indication that they would come down off their hill and engage my infantry line.
As the elephants got more into their work, both the hypaspists and flank guard decided they'd had enough. They broke, and my right centre abruptly collapsed.
It was still slow going in the centre, and (to coin a phrase...) it became apparent that the battle was 'going ill with us'.
John seized his chance to get the other chariots involved, and they charged into the line as well. The elephants re-positioned themselves to inflict more carnage on the exposed infantry, and my light infantry flung javelins for all they were worth.
In the centre, the second unit of bowmen finally gave way.
The chariots were by now carving up my phalanx, but I hoped that my cavalry's belated arrival on that wing would take care of that. The freed-up phalanx ploughed into the third unit of bow infantry who continued to put up a brave fight.
Unfortunately (but not unpredictably!) my centre now gave way, and the clever plan I'd had of holding back the companions on my left was shown for what it really was - rubbish!
Ignoring the javelins coming their way, the elephants began feasting on the light infantry.
We were in even graver difficulties now, and, barring some extremely good fortune, it seemed to be just a matter of time before John's men ground me down beneath their remorseless attacks.
My cavalry charge was a failure, and the elephant slammed into my last unit of infantry before we could see off the final unit of enemy bow. "All is lost," we cried, "especially honour!"
The chariots of the Indian left then roused themselves to finish off my companion cavalry and the rout was complete.
In the end it was a comfortable victory for John and his Indians. He outplayed and outclassed me here, steamrollering my unfortunate troops with good deployment choices and strong play.
I'm afraid to say that if I were a Carthaginian they'd have hanged me after this performance!
So well done John; and all going well we'll attempt to get a rematch in at some stage this year.
VASSAL is so far the best tool I've encountered for play by email games, but Cyberboard does a good job as well.
One gamer I've been lucky enough to have a bit to do with over the past few years is John Acar, and the latest in our long line of VASSAL matches was concluded just recently. What follows is a brief report. All of the screenshots included here are from John's VASSAL module for the game, which can be found in the file section of the AMW yahoo group.
This rules used were Neil Thomas's Ancient and Medieval Wargaming, in this instance pitting Macedonians vs Classical Indians.
I set up first as the Macedonians, putting my heavy infantry in the centre, cavalry on the wings, and light infantry on the left ready to take up a defensive position in the wood. John responded by putting his heavy chariotry on the wings - those on the left supported by his two elephants - and the weaker bow-armed infantry in the centre.
 |
| Deployment with Macedonians up top and Indians below. |
In AMW the first side to eliminate six of the eight enemy units wins, so my plan was to close as quickly as possible in the centre and trust that my phalanx could defeat his bow quickly. I hoped to beat him on one wing with an outflanking move and hold him as long as possible on the other. I felt that there was not much I could do to counter the elephants except pray for really good dice.
Heavy chariots are superior to my companion cavalry in AMW, so I imagined that John's plan would be to use that superiority to his advantage, try to win on the flanks, and unleash the jumbos onto my poor unsuspecting heavy infantry.
Over the next few turns the Indians got into bow range and fired off a volley or two, but without conspicuous success. My cavalry held back on both flanks, daring his chariotry to advance. On his left, they did.
The Indian shooting improved dramatically as the turns clicked over, and John's chariots charged in on the left. My hypaspists promptly responded with a charge of their own into the flank of the chariots, and then the hypaspists in their turn were smacked into by an elephant.
Confused? Hopefully the screenshot below will help.
In the centre the phalangites continued their slow advance, peeling off the rightmost unit to guard against the attack by the second elephant. On my left, nothing much happened except for the light infantry accepting that they were on the wrong wing and trying to get to the other as quickly as they could.
It was now my turn to charge, and the phalangites piled in. They managed to rout the unit opposing the left of the line, but the bowmen in the centre put up strong resistance and the struggle turned attritional.
On my right the horse and chariots traded blows, with the supporting hypaspists disappearing rapidly thanks to the attention of the elephant on their flank.
The fight continued, with the leftmost unit of Indian foot swinging round to outflank my phalanx. The chariots of his right also turned and gave every indication that they would come down off their hill and engage my infantry line.
As the elephants got more into their work, both the hypaspists and flank guard decided they'd had enough. They broke, and my right centre abruptly collapsed.
It was still slow going in the centre, and (to coin a phrase...) it became apparent that the battle was 'going ill with us'.
John seized his chance to get the other chariots involved, and they charged into the line as well. The elephants re-positioned themselves to inflict more carnage on the exposed infantry, and my light infantry flung javelins for all they were worth.
In the centre, the second unit of bowmen finally gave way.
The chariots were by now carving up my phalanx, but I hoped that my cavalry's belated arrival on that wing would take care of that. The freed-up phalanx ploughed into the third unit of bow infantry who continued to put up a brave fight.
Unfortunately (but not unpredictably!) my centre now gave way, and the clever plan I'd had of holding back the companions on my left was shown for what it really was - rubbish!
Ignoring the javelins coming their way, the elephants began feasting on the light infantry.
We were in even graver difficulties now, and, barring some extremely good fortune, it seemed to be just a matter of time before John's men ground me down beneath their remorseless attacks.
My cavalry charge was a failure, and the elephant slammed into my last unit of infantry before we could see off the final unit of enemy bow. "All is lost," we cried, "especially honour!"
The chariots of the Indian left then roused themselves to finish off my companion cavalry and the rout was complete.
In the end it was a comfortable victory for John and his Indians. He outplayed and outclassed me here, steamrollering my unfortunate troops with good deployment choices and strong play.
I'm afraid to say that if I were a Carthaginian they'd have hanged me after this performance!
So well done John; and all going well we'll attempt to get a rematch in at some stage this year.
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
6th Fleet shock - Admiral Prufock demoted!
Scenario 1:
Anti-Submarine Warfare in the Western Mediterranean.
"To ensure the safe passage of NATO merchant shipping through the Strait of Gibraltar and on to Isreal, EUCOM (European Command) has ordered the US 6th Fleet to conduct high-tempo ASW operations against Soviet submarines in the western Mediterranean. With most of 6th Fleet's forces committed in the Aegean Sea, COMSIXTHFLT (Commander, 6th Fleet) currently possesses only two subs with which to commence this sweep...
Meanwhile, the Soviet Black Sea Fleet has received intelligence that the US submarine strength in the western Med is weak. With four submarines currently on station in this area, Commander, Black Sea Fleet has ordered the US submarines to be hunted down immediately."
Day 1.
On the morning of day one the Soviets assign their single squadron of Tu16s to detection duties and it begins tracking the USS Baltimore, just north of Naples. The US assigns two units of Orions to follow the Sumy and the Byngi.
Baltimore shadows Sumy, hitting it south east of Sicily and causing severe damage. P3 Orions on ASW duties continue the attack, which sees Sumy sink early afternoon.
Baltimore is in turn shadowed by the Nezhen. Unable to locate the enemy, Baltimore makes for the Corsican coast.
Nezhen's superior speed allows her bring Baltimore to bay under the very noses of the air cover on Sardinia.
Baltimore desperately seeks to locate the enemy but is unable to do so and is sent to the bottom with all hands.
Day two.
The Soviets shift focus to the USS Drum, which is detected in the AM by Tupolovs. The US assigns two units of Orions to the Drabv and the Byngi.
Confrontation is not long in coming.
The Drabv is engaged and damaged by USS Drum, but the Byngi is in close proximity.
Drum is on her own for the time being and without air support to aid her she sustains damage as Byngi closes and strikes.
Fortunately, Drabv is too far gone to aid in the attack, and the Drum employs evasive tactics in the hope that an opportunity to strike will open up.
In the meantime, the Orions make an attack at 3:30, but are unable to hit the Drabv. This is almost the last chance for the Drum, and tension is high as the Soviets close for the kill.
By 5:30 Drum has been sunk. The Soviets, now unmolested in the western Mediterranean, can begin hunting the supply vessels coming through the Strait of Gibraltar.
This was my first game of 6th Fleet and my amateur tactics are testament to the fact. By not assigning a unit of Orions to detect Nezhen on the first morning I made a real hash of the strategic air mission choices. This meant that after destroying the Sumy Baltimore was blind and a sitting duck for the Nezhen, whom she couldn't outrun.
It has been a valuable lesson in the importance of setting the right units to do the right jobs at the right time.
This was a good and enjoyable introduction to the Fleet system, and while it's clearly going to take me some time to figure out good strategies the rulebook is not at all as daunting as you might think at first glance. That the first scenarios introduce players to the concepts in manageable progressive chunks is very useful, and I think 6th Fleet is the best example of this approach I've yet seen.
Next up will be Scenario 2, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to get it done before I'm off on holiday. We shall see!
Anti-Submarine Warfare in the Western Mediterranean.
"To ensure the safe passage of NATO merchant shipping through the Strait of Gibraltar and on to Isreal, EUCOM (European Command) has ordered the US 6th Fleet to conduct high-tempo ASW operations against Soviet submarines in the western Mediterranean. With most of 6th Fleet's forces committed in the Aegean Sea, COMSIXTHFLT (Commander, 6th Fleet) currently possesses only two subs with which to commence this sweep...
Meanwhile, the Soviet Black Sea Fleet has received intelligence that the US submarine strength in the western Med is weak. With four submarines currently on station in this area, Commander, Black Sea Fleet has ordered the US submarines to be hunted down immediately."
Day 1.
On the morning of day one the Soviets assign their single squadron of Tu16s to detection duties and it begins tracking the USS Baltimore, just north of Naples. The US assigns two units of Orions to follow the Sumy and the Byngi.
Baltimore shadows Sumy, hitting it south east of Sicily and causing severe damage. P3 Orions on ASW duties continue the attack, which sees Sumy sink early afternoon.
Baltimore is in turn shadowed by the Nezhen. Unable to locate the enemy, Baltimore makes for the Corsican coast.
Nezhen's superior speed allows her bring Baltimore to bay under the very noses of the air cover on Sardinia.
Baltimore desperately seeks to locate the enemy but is unable to do so and is sent to the bottom with all hands.
Day two.
The Soviets shift focus to the USS Drum, which is detected in the AM by Tupolovs. The US assigns two units of Orions to the Drabv and the Byngi.
Confrontation is not long in coming.
The Drabv is engaged and damaged by USS Drum, but the Byngi is in close proximity.
Drum is on her own for the time being and without air support to aid her she sustains damage as Byngi closes and strikes.
Fortunately, Drabv is too far gone to aid in the attack, and the Drum employs evasive tactics in the hope that an opportunity to strike will open up.
In the meantime, the Orions make an attack at 3:30, but are unable to hit the Drabv. This is almost the last chance for the Drum, and tension is high as the Soviets close for the kill.
By 5:30 Drum has been sunk. The Soviets, now unmolested in the western Mediterranean, can begin hunting the supply vessels coming through the Strait of Gibraltar.
 |
| USS Drum under attack. |
It has been a valuable lesson in the importance of setting the right units to do the right jobs at the right time.
This was a good and enjoyable introduction to the Fleet system, and while it's clearly going to take me some time to figure out good strategies the rulebook is not at all as daunting as you might think at first glance. That the first scenarios introduce players to the concepts in manageable progressive chunks is very useful, and I think 6th Fleet is the best example of this approach I've yet seen.
Next up will be Scenario 2, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to get it done before I'm off on holiday. We shall see!
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